Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Perfect Pot Roast Every Time!

Hello! Since I am made a Pot Roast today, I thought I would share with you this SUPER easy recipe. And honestly, I think it comes out perfect every time! And it's delicious! Just as good left over as well!

First and foremost, you are going to need a crockpot. Scott and I got this super sweet one for our wedding that turns automatically to warm after the allotted time. Cool right?! No more constant cooking food! Hooray! It's way convenient since from the time I plug it in, to the time we eat, WAY longer than 8 hours. (I also don't recommend cooking on high heat for shorter the time. It tastes way better and the meat is more tender when cooked longer on warm)

Let's get to it!

So really you can customize this the way you choose. I like to use....

- Potatoes
- Carrots
- Onions
- Green Beans (save the juice if you are using from a can!)
- And of course, some type of beef roast. (I think chuck roasts are the best. They have more fat in them but they are juicier and literally fall apart when done cooking)- And we can't forget McCormick Slow Cooker: Savory Pot Roast flavor packet!
You can also add:

- Corn
- Celery
- Fresh Garlic
- Bell Pepper
- etc. (almost any veggie really)
I like to wash and peel my potatoes. You don't have to peal them though if you don't want to. I like to cut mine into approximately 1 in cubes. (though they really are more triangular like) I usually cut up enough so they cover the entire bottom of the crockpot and then a little more.

I also have a big beef on baby carrots so I refuseto use them. (I'm pretty sure they are left over big carrots that they shave down and soak in bleach and then re dye them. You can go ahead and look it up if you'd like) I don't like to peel the carrots because they are just fine the way they are! However, I do cut off the ends. For the bigger end of the carrot, I sometimes cut it in half. Really they can be as big or small as you prefer. I sprinkle the carrots on top of the potatoes. Not enough to completely coat the top but just enough.

Next comes the onion! I sometimes cut the onion up in squares, sometimes in strips. It just depends on my mood really. I tend to eat the onions more when they are squares though. I usually like to do half of a yellow onion, but it really depends how big your crockpot is.

For the green beans, I sometimes use a can (usually just one) and sometimes the fresh ones. This time around, I did a can. (the nice thing about using can GB is that you can use the juice for the flavor packet!) My mama likes to add the green beans at the end so they don't turn into mush, but I like to put them in in the beginning. If you are using fresh GB, I like to cut off the ends. You may also want to cut them in half or even in thirds. (sometimes those things are way long!) So you can either put them in now and sprinkle it over the top, or wait towards the end.

The roast! Like I mentioned earlier, I really think its better to get a chuck roast. Usually they are more flat and have more fat on them.

Next, either use a cup of water, or the juice from the green beans. Poor it into a bowl and then mix in the savory roast flavor packet. (it tends to get little bubbles where little pieces don't mix all the way, but that's okay really. Pour slowly so if you see a bubble, you can mix it) I like to pour it all over the roast. The juice will run off but I like to try to get most of the spices on the roast. Try and get out as much of the spices that are stuck on the bowl as you can.

You are all set! If you are preparing the night before, just put on the lid and stick it in the fridge. If you are ready now, put a lid on it, set it on low and set your timer for 8 hours!

I always love coming home when a roast is cooking. It smells so good!
When 8 hours rolls around, it should look pretty scrumptious! Get a big fork or spoon and mix it all together! The meat should just fall apart. Mmmm! (that's how you know it should be done. if it doesn't fall apart, it should probably cook a while longer.)
Season with salt and pepper and you are all good to go! My hubby and I like this with crescent rolls. Yum!